“What is the best anti-virus software out there? There are so many now and it’s really confusing to try to compare what will work the best.”

This is a great question, and we’re all in search of that secret sauce to keep our computers safe from harm while we travel the World Wide Web. Part of the confusion I believe stems from the fact that there are a number of different (but related) products to address different parts of the security equation. The result you are looking for I assume is to protect your computer and privacy from compromise by someone who would like to harm or steal from you. I’m going to talk a little bit about what the products are, what they do and make some suggestions. Ultimately the best product to use is probably the one that the person that supports you if there is a problem recommends. How you use your computer: the sites you visit, the communications you receive, the programs you use are actually the biggest factor in how secure you will be. The best advice I can give you is to take time to learn about how to be a safer computer user; perhaps I can tackle that in a future column.

Antivirus and other security products

We have seen an evolution from what was once simply Antivirus software into a massive industry with several key components:

Antivirus

Anti-Malware

Security Suites

Other security products

Antivirus

This is the traditional product that has a real time scanning component that based on definitions (known virus signatures) or heuristics (virus-like features) blocks certain files from running on your computer. For most people this is the backbone of their protection scheme. My company recommends Eset NOD32 for this role but there are plenty of other good products on the market place.

Anti-Malware

Most antivirus products include signatures (how the software detects the bad programs) in their definition sets but it is often useful to use Anti-Malware products as well. There are two that I’d recommend Spybot Search and Destroy and Malware Bytes Anti-Malware. Spybot has an inoculation process that definitely can help protect you from a lot of common malware passively by making some changes to your computer.

Security Suites

These products include Antivirus, Anti-Malware, Firewalls and other components. I am not a big fan at all of these products because they are very invasive and often prevent you from doing things you want to do. They also have a level of interaction and training where a user could easily allow something they shouldn’t while “training” the system. That time and effort can be better spent elsewhere.

Other security products

There are lots of products that creatively attempt to solve the security equation. One of the products that I’ve grown to love is Sandboxie. Sandboxie allows you to run programs isolated from your operating system. That means if you happen to execute a virus file within the sandbox it will only affect that sandbox not your operating system overall. This greatly reduces the risk to your system. Unfortunately configuring and learning to use this software correctly requires a time investment. The time invested is well worth it though as you will be able to much more confidently access the web.

The short answer:

Eset NOD32 is the product I would recommend with the understanding that no software will ever be 100% and your willingness to learn about security and privacy issues will be a valuable asset.

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“What’s the best way to remove your personal data before disposing of a PC?” -Mrs. G

This is a great question and I am happy that you asked in Mrs. G. We are all storing so much personal information on our computers these days. The loss of a computer could have a significant impact on our privacy and open us up to identity theft and a host of other problems. There are a number of options to ensure that our private information does not become compromised when we dispose of a computer. Based on skill, I am going to suggest three options.

Use a disposal company that can provide you with a certificate of data destruction.

Remove the hard drive and store it in a safe place.

Run a disk wiping utility that destroys the data.

Using a disposal company that can provide a certificate of data destruction (for novices).

We use a local e-waste company (E-Waste Direct) they and some other firms can provide a certificate of data destruction for the computers they recycle on your behalf. This is the easiest way to avoid having your data get into the wrong hands but you are relying on a third party to do so. Be very cautious and research the company’s reputation before selecting this option. Chances are if they don’t know what a certificate of data destruction is you should keep looking, and that is the first question I would recommend you ask.

Removing and storing the hard drive(s) (novice and up)

Depending on how the computer was designed this can be simple to difficult to do. Hard disks have a very distinct appearance (you can see examples here) and usually have zero (tool-less) to 4 screws. Since you are disposing of the computer do not worry about harming it. The recyclers are going to take it apart anyway.

Using a disk wiping utility (for professionals)

If you know how to create disk images using an ISO file then this moderately more difficult option is very effective at sanitizing a hard disk by completely wiping all data off of it. Most professionals use this method but it can be difficult. There is a free program called dban or Darik’s Boot and Nuke (www.dban.org). If you download the ISO file they provide and boot from the Dban CDROM you can automatically wipe or “nuke” any hard drives in the computer.

Figure out which method works best for you and don’t hesitate to do a little more research and ask more questions Mrs. G. – Joe

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In Joe's day job he helps manufacturers eliminate waste in their engineering, CNC programming and machining departments. He is currently 2018-2019 chair of the Sacramento Valley SME, an avid Maker and current Mechatronics student.